In the next article we are going to take a look at FocusWriter. This is a simple and distraction-free writing environment for users. The program will start in full screen, and it will offer us a hidden interface that we can access by moving the mouse to the edges of the screen. This will allow users to work with a program that has a clean appearance. We can find this software available for Gnu / Linux and Windows, and it has been translated into many languages.
The program comes with support for TXT, RTF and ODT files. It will also allow us to set daily goals, timers and alarms. It also supports sessions, various documents, and themes. FocusWriter is a Free and open source text editor released under the GPLv3 license.
When FocusWriter starts, the program will show us a blank page and a blinking cursor in full screen. As we will see, it is a simple word processor, free of distractions for users who includes support for rich text and smart quotes.
FocusWriter General Features
Among the main features of the program we will find:
- The program includes support for TXT, RTF and ODT file formats.
- We can set daily goals. With this option, users will be able to configure a certain amount of words to write and the program will show us our daily progress.
- In the program we will find timers and alarms.
- It will offer us support multi-document (Optional)
- We will also find the option to automatically save documents.
- Portable mode (Optional)
- FocusWriter supports a function named sessions, which is similar to the tabbed functionality found in a web browser.
- This text editor has the spell checking and restoring cursor position when the last file or tabs is opened.
- Apart from all this, a theme button is included that will allow to create custom themes, with your own background and fonts. You even have the option to save the created themes and to be able to export them.
These are just some of the features of the program. Users can consult all of them in detail from the project website.
Install FocusWriter on Ubuntu 20.04
Through PPA
If we want install the program from the FocusWriter PPA, we will only have to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and use the following command to add the PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa
Once the list of available software has been added and updated, we can install the program with this other command:
sudo apt install focuswriter
After the installation, we only have look for the launcher in our team:
uninstall
If we want remove the PPA from our system, in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) we will only have to use the command:
sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:gottcode/gcppa
Now we can delete the program writing in the same terminal the commands:
sudo apt remove focuswriter; sudo apt autoremove
Using Flatpak
FocusWriter will also be available through Flatpak. For users who use Ubuntu 20.04 and do not have Flatpak technology enabled on their system, they can continue The Guide that a colleague wrote on this blog some time ago.
Once we have this technology enabled, we only have to open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and run the following install command:
flatpak install flathub org.gottcode.FocusWriter
After the installation we can run FocusWriter using the following command:
flatpak run org.gottcode.FocusWriter
uninstall
If you chose to install the program through Flatpak and now you want to uninstall it, in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) you just have to execute the following command:
flatpak uninstall org.gottcode.FocusWriter
An option to download the file can also be found on the project website .deb for different versions of Ubuntu. Although as I write these lines, it is not possible to download the packages, since the URLs return a error 404.
FocusWriter will reduce any user distraction to the maximum, seeking to improve productivity. For get more information about the program, users can consult the project website.